1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fire safety and, more particularly, to a tethered fire escape vessel for lowering children, pets and/or possessions to the ground from a window or terrace.
2. Description of the Background
There are a variety of fire escape devices for multi-level buildings and dwellings, and these range from complex elevators to folding ladders, and simple harnesses for lowering people to the ground. Many of the latter devices utilize a harness attached to a rope that is wound about a pulley mechanism inside the dwelling. The rate of descent of the passenger may be controlled by hand out of a window or off a terrace.
Examples of such devices may be seen in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,128,025 (Mass); 1,351,734 (Barrington); 2,432,741 (Frankel); and 4,550,801 (Forrest).
Most of the devices described in the above patents are quite cumbersome and are installed at a single window or terrace for dedicated use. Such devices are not practical in an emergency situation where access to that particular door or window may be blocked. It is more desirable that a fire escape  device be less cumbersome so that it is not considered an eyesore, and portable for use at any window or other evacuation point. Moreover, although the prevalent use of this sort of device is in lowering children and pets to the ground, the existing prior art cannot accommodate multiple occupants in a balanced vessel, and it provides little or no protection against heat and flames. It would be far safer if all the passengers could be comfortably balanced and fully protected when they are being lowered so that their descent is not hindered. In addition, there is a need for a failsafe descent control provision that will prevent ground impact if the parent loses control of the rope.
Consequently, it is desirable to provide an improved fire escape device that addresses the problems faced by the above prior art devices. The device should be reasonably portable so that it may be conveniently stored, and usable at any of a variety of possible escape routes such as windows or terraces. Above all, the device should ensure that a plurality of children and or pets can be safely, securely and comfortably balanced during a controlled-descent to the ground.